Progress?

As of this morning it appears that Durand's instincts to incubate may be starting to kick in. She is covering 2 of the eggs, however, her body is not tight to the eggs. In this photo she actually appears to be more in a brooding posture than incubation (note how her wings are propping her up). It doesn't appear as though she will move all of the eggs together-at least not now.

If she does get around to incubating "properly" and then moves the eggs together at a later date their viability will be compromised. A successful hatch requires 32-34 days of consistent warmth. As I write this at 8:28 a.m. I see she is now off the eggs(!). I'll stress again that this abnormal behavior is normal for a first time nesting female. It is possible that she may lay another egg even! No one knows how this will play out--all we can do is watch and wait and wonder what will happen--the saga continues!

Mid-morning Update: Now she is concentrating on the other set of eggs! Having two sets of eggs will no doubt be confusing to her. There are no plans at the current time to move the eggs for her--this cycle of events is a natural process for a first-time nesting falcon and what happens will be an interesting learning opportuntity for us all-peregrines included!